Daniel Dubois compares knocking out home crowd-favorite Anthony Joshua at Wembley to "a stroll in the park"
Daniel Dubois felt no pressure heading into his Sept. 21 fight against Anthony Joshua. IBF heavyweight champion Dubois was a betting underdog heading into the first defense of his title against Joshua.
Despite this, Dubois thoroughly dominated the fight and dropped 'AJ' three times before knocking him out in Round 5 to retain the title. While it was one of the most lopsided defeats of Joshua's professional boxing career, it marked the most significant victory for Dubois by far.
Heading into the fight, many thought that the big moment of fighting a former champion and resurgent veteran like Joshua might be too difficult for Dubois to handle. Additionally, Joshua enjoyed massive support from the UK fans. However, Dubois put on the best performance and defeated the hometown favorite without having to deal with a lot of adversity.
In a recent interview with TalkSPORT, Dubois said:
"No. I was not going to freeze. I wasn't overawed or anything by the occasion. To me, it was like a stroll in the park, walking in there. Now, I had to be in the right mindset to go out there and do what I did. It was just doing everyone proud, doing my family proud, my dad and my team that's really around me. I wasn't going to let them down."
Check out Daniel Dubois' comments below (3:57):
Daniel Dubois feels confident to dominate the heavyweight division in future
The heavyweight division has been dominated by veteran fighters like Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder over the last several years. However, the dominance seems to be fading as witnessed by Fury and Wilder's recent defeats and lackluster performances.
Joshua, who was on a resurgent run after losing the heavyweight title to Usyk, also lost to the much younger Daniel Dubois. Speaking further in the aforementioned interview with TalkSPORT, Dubois said:
"I believe it was [a change of guard]. That was the crowning moment and I had to take it away from him. I slayed the king." [5:10]
When asked if he can dominate the weight class for years to come, Dubois said:
"I believe I can... If I make the right adjustments and sharpen up my game even more than now, I believe I can. It's just a start now. It's my time." [5:25]